Mark Kerr of White Lake appears as an Emerald City resident in the new movie, "Oz, the Great and Powerful."

Jennifer Sills was transformed head to toe as an Emerald City resident while working on "Oz, the Great and Powerful," which premieres for a select few in Royal Oak tonight (Tues).

"The undergarments consisted of structured corsets and I had to wear a full petticoat under my dress," said Sills, 26, of Bloomfield Hills.

"My hair was braided each morning and hairpieces were intricately placed by stylists. During filming, continuity of appearance was essential so -- as a team -- the makeup artists and hairstylists did their best to keep each look consistent."

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Hundreds of people who worked on the movie are anxious this week to see the completed film as it premieres in theaters nationally Friday.

The Disney film tells the origins of the Wizard of Oz, the character from L. Frank Baum's book. The film stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, a magician who finds himself in the Land of Oz. He there meets three witches played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. Diggs must figure out how to help the people of Oz and combat evil at the same time.

Bryan and Laurie Valko of Lake Orion -- who were Emerald City residents -- worked as the only married couple on the film.

"One of the more memorable days was a late evening during our meal break when an impromptu talent show broke out," said Bryan. "It started with a few of the Winkies -- the near 7-foot tall soldiers -- started singing while using an A1 (steak sauce) bottle as a microphone, challenging others to step up and sing.

"This is a very talented group and before you knew it many of the extras were taking turns belting out tunes. The activity got the attention of the crew and principle actors, and eventually Mila, Rachel and Michelle stopped by and listened in."

Several actors including Ron Causey, who played a tinker, are attending the premiere at the Royal Oak Emagine theater.

"I'm like a kid at Christmas time," said Causey of seeing the film tonight.

Causey, 45, a veteran of more than 40 films, worked side by side with Bill Cobbs, another tinker and an actor from TV's "The Cosby Show."

Causey played a henchman in the 2011 film, "Real Steel."

"I had my head shaved so I submitted that photo when they were casting for 'Oz,'" said the Allen Park resident.

"The director, Sam Raimi, hand-picked people he hired, including me. We were all blown away being on the set.

"You were transported to this different world. I've done all these movies but nothing compares to 'Oz.' It was fantastic."

Christy Edwards of Farmington Hills plays a "quadling," one of the Glinda's happy farmers.

"Walking through the iconic poppy field was surreal!" she exclaimed.

"Each poppy was 'planted' by a props person with a special gun. There were something like 9,000 poppies planted. Another memory I have is standing in the center of the yellow brick road with Franco, Kunis and Williams with explosions going off and fire all around."

Edwards said Franco is an avid reader and was constantly reading books on set.

"He would be reading almost until Sam Raimi yelled action," she said. "The camera would be rolling and we'd all be in place and the sound was speeding. Then he'd set his book down behind something on set and jump right into character. It was very impressive!"

Derek Kelly of Shelby Township -- who worked as James Franco's stunt double -- had long hair when began his work on the film.

"They had to do some cuts," said the 26-year-old, referring to his hair.

Eventually the stylists got his hair to a point where Kelly's looked like Franco's. Kelly will also be at the Royal Oak premiere.

In the film, people won't see his face, but he's there, doing the stunt work.

"I can't describe what it was like," he said. "I've been a big fan of the 'Wizard of Oz' since I was a kid. When I walked onto the set, with Glinda's castle and 200 extras, I felt like Dorothy walking into Oz for the first time."

Jennifer Sills, who spent two weeks on the film, said days were long on the set. "Raimi had a commanding aura and came to work in a suit each day to commemorate the tradition of his idol, Alfred Hitchcock, who also wore a suit on set," she said. "Raimi addressed the crew of extras as his 'actors' which speaks volume since he paid his respect to us."

Mark Kerr of White Lake also played an Emerald City resident.

A worship pastor with Waterford-based Faith Church, Kerr, 55, was on set about 12 hours a day for the eight days he worked. He plans to see the movie Friday with his wife.